Universal Studios Hollywood Theme Park to Close Amid Los Angeles Wildfires

Universal Studios Hollywood will be closed on Wednesday as wildfires continue to rage across the Los Angeles area. 

“Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal CityWalk will be closed today as a result of the extreme winds and fire conditions,” according to a statement from the theme park. “We will continue to assess the situation and expect to open for business tomorrow. The safety of our team members and our guests is our top priority.”

The fires, which started on Tuesday, broke out near the Pacific Palisades neighborhood on the westside of Los Angeles and has damaged homes and forced thousands to evacuate. Two more fires, the Eaton Fire near Pasadena and the Hurst Fire near the San Fernando Valley, spread later in the day, prompting California Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency.

Related Stories

VIP+

3 Theatrical Film Slates to Watch in the Year Ahead

American Cinematheque's Timothée Chalamet Career Retrospective Sells Out in Record Time, Andrew Garfield and Cameron Crowe Join as Moderators (EXCLUSIVE)

Mark Hamill, Mandy Moore, and Eugene Levy were among the stars who were forced to evacuate their homes as the fires rip through southern California. Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, who rose to fame on the MTV reality series “The Hills,” were able to flee to safety but confirmed their Pacific Palisades house was burned down. 

“Evacuated Malibu so last minute,” Hamill wrote Tuesday night on Instagram. “Small fires on both sides of the road as we approached [the Pacific Coast Highway].” Moore wrote on Wednesday morning, “Praying for our everyone in our beautiful city. So gutted for the destruction and loss. Don’t know if our place made it.”

Several Hollywood events, including the premieres of “Universal’s “Wolf Man,” Amazon MGM’s “Unstoppable,” Paramount’s “Better Man” and HBO’s “The Pitt,” have been canceled due to the fires and extreme winds.